My Courage
by Di-nice
Summary: When Draco finds out about a new family members his priorities drastically shift. He will need a bundle of maturity and cunning worth Slytherin himself to pull it through, his success however is unknown.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:So this story is for Draco lovers. This draco will not be completely good or light so if you are looking for that this is not for you. Not sure where I'm headed with this but Draco will definitely be BAMF with a good dose of ruthlessness. Hope you enjoy and remember all comments are greatly appreciated.**

* * *

All the planning and I'm still anxious. Fathers sentencing came to us yesterday, caused by Potter no less. That, however, is not my concern. Ever since mother owled me a few months back I realised that the fate of this new life lies solely in my hands. Mother is to weak to make the necessary decisions to protect her child...children. Too encased with the role of a perfect pure-blood wife to protect herself, let alone her children. Sometimes I wonder if the Black family blood flows through her at all, or maybe it flows through me too much. I only have a few hours left before the dark Lord arrives. I'm certain he will be here earlier than expected and I'd like to be long gone by then. All the family heirlooms and valuable texts have been safely stored in MY vault. "Shadow, have you moved all our things to the location?" the elf appears right in front of me and nods, eyes alight and highly alert. " Please fetch him... and the decoy." moments later two babies lie on the bed, both only a few days old. One looks like a replica of me and the other is a red-haired freckled baby of a squib. I move my wand out of my holster and perform the spells required and fifteen minutes of non-stop casting I've done all I could do, now it's shadows turn. I watch as he removes my magical signature and perfects the transformation. Now the only difference between Regulus and his doppelganger is the birthmark shaped like a sword on Regie's thigh. Right after the decoy was put in the crib the dark Lord's attack on the wards began. I covered my brother with the cloak I'm wearing, called for shadow and we were gone before he could invade.

Home, this is now home. A three bedroom house on the outskirts of London with no floo connection and goblin made wards that cost double my placement on the quiditch team. Quiditch, another thing I have to give up. I'll be too buzy taking care of Regie, it wouldn't be healthy to leave Reg with no human interaction. Plus how would he learn to speak considering shadow is mute. The little tyke starts to fuss within my arms and I softly bounce him before he settles. I move from the living room to the nusery upstairs and change him in his crawler before placing the pacifier with the clip on in his tiny mouth. With Regie placed on my chest and his teel, engraved blanket covering him, I move to the rocking chair to ponder my...our situation. My brother, his small weight against my chest both comforts and focuses me. Only two days old and I've given up everything my father ensists is correct to keep him safe . Salzar knows our godfather won't. I have no idea why my parents keep that man close. 'Motive, that's the only reason why men fight.' And I believe grandfather, would be foolish not to. Which is the reason I begun to distrust Severus. If you pay little attention to him it's obvious that he is a 'former' death eater with lack of any remorse. That's where the problem lies, because a spy for the dark Lord should try their utmost to gain the light's trust. However he seems to be doing the oposite, doing his utmost to gain the dark's trust. It used to fill me with glee when he always supported me when I messed with the slugs at school. The past couple of months had me paying closer attention to my circle since I could not take chances when it came to my brother. He had been told of him ofcourse, but he made no move to protect him from the dark Lord or my father, just like he didn't shield me from any of the irrational demands and consequences from my family before. Instead he chose to honour his obligation as godfather when it came to house points? So now I had to wonder, what is this man's motive in the current war. Oh it was easy to observe the occupants at hogwards this year. Umbrige's squad gave a lot of freedom with little attention since she often hoards it herself. Severus has no family, friends or pets that he cares for, nor does he have much care to have these things as evident by his treatment of us. Or maybe he does not value them as much. All I know is that he is an unknown. An unknown I will not factor into our lives. It could be the price we pay if we do. During my planning I considered going to Dumbledore for assistance but the man was rarely at school plus his side never held any love for me. A hostile environment is no place to raise an infant and the blood fude with the Weasles would interfere with any comradeship that could've been obtained. Which brings me back to mother. I'm not sure what my feelings are when it comes to mother. I'm aware that I love her, a lot more than father, which isn't hard to accomplish. Mostly though I resent her. The absolute faith and loyalty she grants to her unworthy husband is ridiculously thick. She's unable to see the pit he is leading her to because of it, nor will she cut the string when he jumps right into it like the mindless peacock he is. The peacock I almost turned into and tried so hard to do so before. Five minutes to midnight and tears flow down my face as I think of the probable death of my mother. Father won't consider disown in me since dementors have the unfortunate side-effect of rendering their defenceless patients sterile if exposed to their care for long periods of time. Squeezing my little bundle a little tighter I move to place him in his crib. "troujuos pur and sanctimonia vincet semper, now we have to find out what that means to us." I brush my hand against his soft hair just as the clock strikes midnight. "Goodnight Regulus".

Meanwhile back at Malfoy manor the clock strikes midnight as the dark Lord enters the nursery with Nott senior dead at Narccissa's feet. "What isss the meaning of thisss dear flower?" The blond haired woman bows to her feet when he regonises the voice of the man accompanying her husband into the room "m-my Lord, p-please, he's my son." A wand is lifted towards the fearful mother when a silent crucio is cast. "In payment of you husssbands failures and the missing serviccce owed by your son in my ranksss you shall sstart paying with the spare." The wand is lifted of the crying woman who pleads silently to her husband with her eyes when green light fills the room. "Your husband hasss _kindly_ offered hiss home to my death eatersss, I'm sssure we will be treated with the much coveted Malfoy hossspitality?" Narccissa kneels on her shaky legs, as expected, before she replies. "Yes m-m-my lo-ord."

* * *

 **So first the chapter complete, hope you liked it. Remeber to like and review.**


	2. Back Again

Again. I have no idea why I thought this would be the easy part. When I got into the nursery I found shadow standing next to the crib, bottles in hand. He looked worried. "Shadow, taking care of Reggie is not part of your duties and it never will be, unless there are dire circumstances. You're already doing more than I expected, which I'm thankful for. You should go rest now, one of us should be alert tomo-today." Shadow is gone before I reach the crib, bottles left near the changing table. Now I have to sooth the other baby. "Shrieking is for banshees Reg. Now why don't you settle while I fix the problem. Let's rid you of this disgusting nappy...urg." once changed, bottle firmly in his mouth, Reg became an absolute angel. It's been six weeks since we arrived here and we are running out of supplies. Reggie is growing like a weed, which is marvellous because that means I'm doing a terrific job as a single father. Single father, that's what I've been calling myself. I have to start looking for a babysitter for when school re-opens this September. The bottle of milk is halfway finished when Reg starts dosing off. I make sure he's burped and his paci back in his mouth before I head back to bed myself, praying to Salazar for another four hours of sleep.

Another headline on the missing Malfoy heir. I wonder who filled that report. News of my father's break-out from prison certainly escalated the search for me. To bad none will think of looking for me in muggle London. The upside to all this unnecessary publicity is the knowledge of my mother's survival. Right now Regulus and I are preparing for our first trip out. We need nappies, milk, food and frankly I need to interact with humans that can do more than babble, even if those humans are muggles. The trip turned out to be a success, so much so that I extended it with a visit to the local park. Using public transport was a bit of a challenge but the old lady, Mrs Jones, who lives opposite my house explained to me how it works, after I swallowed my pride and asked her for help. Another thing I've had to do for Reg, swallowing my pride. I'd been sitting on the park bench for about fifteen minutes when she arrived. "I recognise you. Not many would, but I do." I had my wand pointed at her throat by the time she finished her first sentence. " You better tell me who you are and what you want from me if you want to ." she let out a chuckle before she looked me right in the eye. "Malfoys, all bark but cowards the whole lot of them. Dumbledore and the rest of the order have been looking for you boy, then again so have the death eaters. Dumbledore will be pleased once I tell him where you are." Wand placed safely in the diaper bag I turn my body to face her. "Listen and listen well," I placed both her hands in mine and held them firmly before she tried to pull them back. "You will never again utter a single word about the Malfoys, let alone think about us in the company of others. If that happens your heart will have trouble functioning for a second longer so mote it be." The utter fear in her eyes pleased me greatly since this means she knows what just occurred, old curse magic. Untraceable and of course completely illegal. The fading handprints on her arms sealed the curse, now it can't be reversed. "Now I'm going to ask you again, who are you, what do you want from me and who else could find me here?" she replied a lot quicker this time. "Arrabella Figg. I don't want anything from you I'm a squib. No one else will know you're here. I came to visit a friend of mine. She's sick. She's a muggle." I relaxed a little at her quick explanation. " Next time you shall remember I'm not only a Malfoy, I'm also a Black." I stood diaper back in hand and pushed the stroller back home. Thankful of the extension charm on the pram. I'll just have to be more careful from now. September 1st came sooner than I liked. I left Reg sleeping at Mrs Jones' house. The woman liked to check up on us from time to time so when she saw me looking through babysitting agencies she insisted her services would be superior not to mention convenient. Well I relented, she was close to home and if I have to leave my brother with a muggles I'd rather it be a muggle I know. Plus shadow will keep an eye on them.

"Where were you this summer, you had me worried." Pansy, not sure I've ever met a girl as dumb as she is. "Well? Are you going to tell us or is this another one of you secrets?" the entire sixth year slytherins were cramped in one compartment. Good thing there aren't so many of us. All of them were waiting for my answer. "Pansy if I failed to tell my parents where I am why in Salzar's name would I tell you?" she looked a little disappointed at this answer. Wonder how safe I'll be in the dorms if the dark Lord's followers are already making their move. The rest of the ride was filled with talk about the new potions professor, who failed to invite me into his club. Just as I was about to leave the train purple hair caught my eye. "Greg leave a seat for me at the table, I'll catch up with you later." I didn't wait for a reply. As soon as she was done leading Potter out I pulled her into the nearest compartment and threw a few privacy charms. "Do you remember me?" I asked, her stance told me she was ready for a fight. Wand pointed at me. "Malfoy, aunt Cissy's son." I shook my head. "I asked if you remember me, not if you know who I am. So I shall ask again, do you remember me?" The anger in her eyes reflected in her voice. "Yes, though I'm not sure if you can remember someone you never knew." I gave her a small apologetic smile before turning serious again. "Meet me tonight, seven pm at the three broomstick, room 307. We have a lot to discuss." She looked wary, not that I blame her. "Why should I, last time I gave you a chance like this you cast me aside just like mother said you would." I took a step closer to her and she matched it. "I have a lot of explaining to do, first one being about the letter I sent. Oh and do come alone or don't come at all." After cancelling the charms I turned to leave but a hand stopped me. "I don't trust you." I kept looking straight ahead "I know, but as you are aware the war is here. I'm not sure if either of us will make it out alive. Our last correspondence is not how I'd like to remember you, or you I. Hope to see you there," I look straight into her eye "big sister." I left before she could respond.

Right after we dinner at the great hall I saw her approach. "Mr Malfoy, the headmaster would like to see you in his office." Magonigal, never met a woman as uptight as her. Should just find herself a man to fuck her. With the necessary contraceptive charms of course. A hormonal Magonigal would be pure torture.

"Headmaster, professor Snape." I greet before sitting down at the empty seat next to Snape opposite Dumbledore. "Mr Malfoy, just wanted to make sure you're alright. You were reported missing." I place my trademark sneer on, only mask I have really. "All a misunderstanding I assure you." His irritating eyes won't stop twinkling " Well of course, do you mind telling us were you were my boy." So that's what this is about. "I went to visit a friend of mine, in France. Lives close to my relatives there." He can tell I'm lying. "Ah... as long as your safe my boy. Have a great evening. Professor Snape shall escorts you to the dorms." We were almost at the dorms when he spoke. "Draco ate you really not going to tell me, your godfather, where you were? You had your mother worried." With a put upon sigh I answered "If I were to tell you I assume my location would've been given to my parents?" Snape looked like he would like to be anywhere else than have this conversation. "They are your parents. I believe it would be considered part of my duties as godfather." We were almost by the door when I replied. "hmm you'll have to forgive the lack of faith I have in your abilities as godfather professor. After all you are one godchild short. Goodnight Sir." His shocked face was the last thing I saw before heading into the common room.

* * *

 **AN: Enjoyed writing this one. Think this gives a bit on the changes having a brother have on Draco. Hope you enjoyed it too.**


End file.
